> I've been an Apple fanboy since the mid-80s, but I find the whole concept of my phone suspecting me of child pornography appalling.
In The Cuckoo's Egg, Cliff Stoll tells about having his computer page him when it detected a hacking attempt. Telling about one time when his pager went off, he said, "My computer wanted me."
Now we have so many notifications and suggested actions from our phones and computers, it feels like we have become computer peripherals. Our computers want us to do things. They have agency, and we're responding to it.
But at least we still had agency, too. The computer had the initiative, and we could choose to respond, or not. Now, though, the computers are limiting our agency. They are becoming the controllers, and we the controlled.
I don't think it's just that Apple has made a huge mistake. I think humanity is making a huge mistake. We are allowing tech to turn us into children.
In The Cuckoo's Egg, Cliff Stoll tells about having his computer page him when it detected a hacking attempt. Telling about one time when his pager went off, he said, "My computer wanted me."
Now we have so many notifications and suggested actions from our phones and computers, it feels like we have become computer peripherals. Our computers want us to do things. They have agency, and we're responding to it.
But at least we still had agency, too. The computer had the initiative, and we could choose to respond, or not. Now, though, the computers are limiting our agency. They are becoming the controllers, and we the controlled.
I don't think it's just that Apple has made a huge mistake. I think humanity is making a huge mistake. We are allowing tech to turn us into children.